A major part of the energy consumption of shopping centers is due to air-conditioning. The high area-specific energy consumption offers a great potential for energy savings, which can be harvested by efficient HVAC-system concepts on the one hand and by the identification of efficient system concepts for future centers on the other hand.

In order to create a recommendation for the planning of energy-efficient shopping centers in the form of a best practice guide, existing supply and delivery systems are analyzed in a more intensive benchmark in order to develop characteristic energy consumption values of shopping centers. The consumption and operating structures of current shopping centers are investigated be means of intensive monitoring over the entire duration time. In parallel, a simulation toolbox is being developed for the rapid design of novel building energy systems. At the same time, the research results from the air quality investigations and the high-induction air-water systems are integrated into the modular simulation tool box in order to get a holistic view of the complex building-energy-systems of shopping centers.

The HVAC-modules on the one hand and the building zone modules on the other allow a well-coordinated energy supply of such building complexes. Due to the optimization of modularized building-energy-systems based on dynamic coupled annual simulations, a recommendation in the form of a best-practice guide for the future design and the operation of shopping centers is given.